Hay Lin's Christmas oneshot
by yellow 14
Summary: Hay Lin saves someone she stopped believing in a long time ago.


Disclaimer: I do own W.I.T.C.H. (Disney pull out a lot of scary lawyers) OK I don't really.

AN: Set in the comicverse.

AN2: With a bit of prodding (ok a LOT of prodding) I've finally gotten the Christmas spirit in my system, even if I hardly have any time to write these days. As Hay Lin's my favourite member of W.I.T.C.H, I felt like focusing on her.

It was Christmas Eve and Hay Lin was hard at work. Strictly speaking, Hay Lin didn't need to be working in the Silver Dragon tonight, her Uncle Lee had suggested that she get some sleep for tomorrow. Christmas was a busy day for the Silver Dragon, families from around Heatherfield came to the Silver Dragon for Christmas lunch.

But for Hay Lin, the celebrations were merely a painful reminder of what had happened around this time last year. Her parents had been driving home from a friends Christmas party when a drunken lorry driver had rounded corner and smashed into their car. They had been killed instantly. So for Hay Lin, Christmas was a time of sadness, not happiness.

Irma had invited her and the other girls over to celebrate Christmas with her on Boxing Day, something Hay Lin used to do with her family. But Hay Lin had declined the offer, preferring to spend her time alone (Her Uncle Lee generally avoided spending time with her when he didn't have her working) Her uncle had taken over the Silver Dragon after her parents death and was, on paper, her guardian, but in practice he used her as slave labour, working in the Silver Dragon when she wasn't at school. She knew that the rest of W.I.T.C.H were worried about her, but she didn't see what she could do about it.

She was just turning to go back inside when she spotted a figure on the roof of the house across the road from her.

"Hey, you!" she called out. The figure turned and slipped. Hay Lin's response was instantaneous. Without even stopping to think, she launched herself into the air and caught him as he fell towards the ground. Setting down on the roof, she turned to face the man she'd rescued. He was an old man, with a long white beard and he was wearing a Santa suit.

"Thank you Hay Lin." He gasped.

"You're welco…, Wait a minute, how do you know my name?" she responded, changing tack mid sentence.

"I can tell a child's name on sight, even those who've stopped believing in me." he replied. Hay Lin raised an eyebrow. "Hay Lin, just over a year ago you and your friends discovered that you're guardians. Is it really that much of a leap of the imagination to discover that Santa Claus exists?"

Hay Lin let out a groan and put her hand against her forehead. "I suppose not. But it seems more likely that you're just another magical villain out to destroy the guardians." The man let out a whistle and a sled, pulled by reindeer trotted over to them. The lead reindeer had a bright red shiny nose.

"Okay, I'm inclined to believe you."

Santa gave her a smile. "For you Hay Lin, air guardian, I have a gift." He reached inside his sack and pulled out a small box and gave it to her. With some trepidation, she opened it and a white light flashed.

When Hay Lin opened her eyes, she saw that she was in some kind of white void. Looking round, she saw two figures walking towards her. As they got closer, Hay Lin recognised them instantly.

"Mum, Dad!" she cried out as she hugged them both tightly, not daring to believe that they were there.

"Am I dead?" she asked in a quiet voice. Her father let out a small chuckle.

"No you're not dead sweetie." He said as he ruffled her hair fondly.

"But…" Hay Lin began.

"Father Christmas has the power to grant gifts at Christmas." Her mother said, as she looked Hay Lin in the eye.

"But even then, his power is limited" Her father added.

Hay Lin's parents embraced her in a powerful hug once more, tears in their eyes.

"We will always be there to watch and protect you as best we can. But you must learn to live again, stop pushing your friends away, you honour the dead by living, not by dying with them." Her mother whispered in her ear. Their forms began to fade away.

"Hay Lin, we have very little time left. We love you in life and death and we're proud of you. Goodbye." Her parents said to her.

"Goodbye" she whispered back as they faded away. Then she woke up with a start. Turning her head, she looked at the picture of her parents that was beside her bed, tears running down her cheeks. "You're right mum and dad, I owe it to you to live once more."

That afternoon she dialled Irma's number.

"Hello, Lair residence." Irma's mother answered.

"Hi, can I talk to Irma please?" Hay Lin asked tentatively. A moment later, Irma was on the phone.

"Hi, umm, is the invitation to come over tomorrow still open?" Hay Lin asked nervously.

"Sure!" Irma replied cheerfully. "You wanna come?"

"Yeah. I figured it's time I started LIVING again." Hay Lin replied.

As she put the phone down, Hay Lin smiled to herself. Maybe what had happened last night was just a crazy dream, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the message that dream conveyed, that's what mattered.

Over the course of the next year, things got better for Hay Lin. Her uncle was charged with child abuse and she was taken in by the Lair family. And although they would never replace her parents, Anna and Tom Lair helped her feel like she had a family once more.

AN: The death of Hay Lin's parents happened the first Christmas after W.I.T.C.H began.


End file.
